The present invention relates to an arrangement for heating the passenger compartment or area of a vehicle, and includes a warm water circuit means which serves for the transfer of heat and in which are connected, in series, an internal combustion engine, a torque converter transmission, an exhaust gas heat exchanger, and heating units for the passenger area.
DE-OS 35 09 016 discloses an arrangement for heating passenger areas of vehicles where not only the heat of a cooling water circuit means but also the heat of the exhaust gas is used for the heating arrangement. In order to be able to use the exhaust gasses in the heating arrangement or divert them therefrom, provided between an exhaust manifold of an internal combustion engine and an exhaust gas heat exchanger is an exhaust gas diverter that can be controlled by flaps or valves. By means of a first valve, the exhaust gases can be conveyed directly through the exhaust gas heat exchanger, where the heat from the exhaust gas is transferred to the warm water circuit means of the heating arrangement. In this phase, a second valve blocks off the path to a muffler. If there is an oversupply of heat from the exhaust gas heat exchanger, the valves of the exhaust gas diverter are switched over in such a way that the path of the exhaust gases through the heat exchanger is blocked off, and the exhaust gases are conveyed directly to the muffler. To synchronize the movements of the valves of the gas diverter, a lever or linkage system is provided that is operated by a compressed air cylinder. Thermostats or thermal-lag switches undertake control of the compressed air cylinder; these switches are disposed at the water discharge of the exhaust gas heat exchanger. The exhaust gas heat exchanger comprises tubes through which the exhaust gas flows and about which water flows. After passing through the heat exchanger, the exhaust gas flows directly into the environment. Such a heating system is not in a position to utilize unburned constituents of the exhaust gas for the heating arrangement and to optimally utilize the energy of the fuel.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to optimally utilize the fuel for heating the passenger area of a vehicle that makes frequent stops .